Little Bones by Sandy Bigna

Did you know

that if you wish for something

in the stealthy shadows of your bedroom,

if you whisper the words

soft as the brush of a moth's wing,

if you feel the words rush through your blood,

your wish might come true.

What was this wish?  Bone has found a tiny bird skeleton.

I close my eyes for a moment,

then whisper

will all the longing in my heart,

I wish I could talk to you,

I wish you were alive.

There are five kids in this story. Bones and two other girls who are just finishing Primary school - Akio and Edie. Akio was a best friend to Bones but then along came - Edie and everything changed. And then a new kid who moves in next door named Tenny. Tenny is gender neutral:

Tenny kicks their legs against the dumpster,

just staring and chewing gum.

And the fifth kid is Nico - he has died in a terrible accident. Bones now lives with her Nonna and mum has left to work up North. They do talk on the phone but the connection is often disrupted by bad reception and Bones misses her desperately.

Here are some text quotes to give you an idea about the tone and plot of this story:

It was Edie who gave me my nickname:

Bones.

She thinks it's an insult

but I've claimed it as my own.

Bird has a sweet sense of humour:

'Oh ...

umm ... I guess I meant

I wished you were alive

the way you once were,

with feathers and skin and ...'

Bird stares at me

with his hollow eye sockets.

'Well you could have specified that.'

Wishing for a once-living thing

to be alive again,

the way it was,

goes against the laws of nature.

I cannot be as I was,

so the moons' power has transformed me into

something

no creature should be.

Bones has no idea how to reverse the curse but then she remembers her brother had a book called The Encyclopedia of Moon Magic. Alas, when Tenny and Bones go to the library they discover the book is out on loan. Now the hunt is on. They need to find this book and they need to complete the ritual with Bird by the light on of the next full moon. Wait any longer and Bird will be trapped forever. There is also another major problem. Bones cannot, will not, ever return to that place in the forest. (Note the library visit scene on pages 84-87 would be a great passage to use if you are book talking Little Bones although this does contain the spoiler that Nico has died). 

There are several references to the story of Icarus in this book so familiarity with this famous myth could help the reader anticipate Nico's fatal accident. As the text says:

His favourite was

the story of Icarus

(the boy who flew so close to the sun

that his wings melted

and he fell

to his watery death).

I am not sure if this word is too strong but in some ways the journey taken by Bones to restore Bird back to his resting place feels like atonement. And there are also themes of grief, healing, and making new friends. Bones has witnessed the fatal fall of her brother as he climbed a tree to return a baby bird back to its nest. It was at her urging that he was hurrying. 

When I opened the parcel from University of Queensland Press (UQP) I actually squealed - a verse novel! An Australian verse novel! Little Bones is a debut novel for Sand Bigna. This book will be published on 4th March. It is always wonderful to share verse novels with students in a library. This one will be enjoyed by readers aged 10+. I also expect to see Little Bones listed as a 2026 CBCA Younger Readers Notable title. 

Here are the teacher notes - they are very detailed. You can meet the author at an event in Canberra on 19th March, 2025.

I was interested to read this from Sandy Bigna. You can find her on Instagram.

How did Little Bones come to be? Much of this book was written over a summer break when I had the freedom to dream, play and create. The voice of Bones came to me first, and along with her voice came an image of a lonely girl who collected animal bones and was dealing with issues of loss and fractured friendships. The story idea was inspired by my own fascination with animal bones – the symbolism of them, the way they tell a story of life rather than death. Growing up in Canberra, with its rich and evocative wetlands, bushland and forest areas, inspired the setting for this story.

Other books and verse novels that explore the loss of a sibling or a significant family member. In each of these we follow the journey of grief through to some level of acceptance or restoration.

Right as Rain

My Brother Finch

It is interesting to link Nico with Finch because both boys really embrace life.

Bird

The Probability of Everything

Telephone of the Tree

Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth

Bridge to Terabithia

Meet me at the Moon Tree

Wild wings

The Lorikeet Tree by Paul Jennings

Twins - are they always friends? Do they share interests and abilities? Not necessarily. Emily and Alex are twins but they are also very different from one another. Emily loves literature, writing and nature. She is afraid of heights. Emily anticipates consequences of the actions of others. Alex is fantastic at building and maths. He loves constructing crazy structures. He has the idea that his actions can make things change. This is an echo of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Little Match Girl. 

Five kittens are born to a feral cat under their house. Alex needs something to love. Emily knows a cat will mean trouble for the beautiful wild creatures, especially the birds, that have found refuge in the forest the family have created around their home. 

Years earlier their mother has died and now the twins have to cope with the desperately sad news that their father has an inoperable brain tumour.

The structure of this book is simply wonderful. Emily is writing a memoir as a school assignment and so each section is divided with a teacher feedback page which grades her work. The memoir format gives this book so much honesty.

This is a beautiful story told in a very unique way. ... With rich characters who reveal ALL their flaws, it’s the kind of book kids will read and remember forever. ... I am forever changed after reading it, and you will be too. Kids' Book Review

This morning I headed off to my local independent book store where I picked up a great stack of middle grade book and Young Adult. In my next post I will list all of the titles because they will be my reading for February.  

I couldn't wait to read this latest book by Australian master storyteller Paul Jennings. By coincidence I had read a review of this book this morning over breakfast also by coincidence this book was released today! As with other recent novels by Paul Jennings I was immediately engulfed in this story and yes, I read the whole book in one sitting - it felt like I stopped breathing!

Publisher blurb Allen and Unwin: A sister and brother face the hardest year of their lives and discover the healing power of nature in this compelling tale from master storyteller Paul Jennings. Emily loves the bush and the native animals on her family's reforested property, particularly the beautiful rainbow lorikeets that nest in one of the tallest trees. But then her father is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and Emily's world enters a tailspin. Her twin brother, Alex, refuses to accept the truth. His coping mechanism is to build elaborate additions to his treehouse in the superstitious belief that it will avert disaster - leaving Emily to deal with harsh reality on her own. When Alex secretly adopts a feral kitten, going against everything that's important to Emily, the siblings' emotions reach boiling point - with potentially dangerous consequences for them all. A moving story of family, loss and love, from one of Australia's most beloved storytellers.

The setting for this book is quintessentially Australian set in Warrnambool which is actually where Paul Jennings lives. But having said that I do hope this book reaches an international audience even though I imagine for the US market the book will probably be given a different title. I regularly read books set in Maine, New York, or Florida in the US and of course from many other places around the world. I think it is wonderful to read books set in other places and so I hope publishers will grab this book and make it available to readers (aged 11+) in the US, UK and beyond. Similarly readers from other countries may be unfamiliar with our lorikeet but again I am happy to read about birds we don't have here in Australia such as the hummingbird, woodpecker and chickadee. 

Image source: Moonlit Sanctuary (Victoria)

You can read more about The Lorikeet Tree on Paul Jennings web page and see the first draft of the cover (which I really like). 

Paul Jennings first wrote his short stories back in 1985 and they were splendid but if you haven't read these three more recent Paul Jennings books (yes he is famous for those terrific short stories such as the ones in the book Unreal) head out to your library now and grab them - and I do mean NOW

A Different Dog

A Different Boy

Stella by the Sea by Ruth Starke

Stella lives with her busy and successful but time poor parents in a high rise apartment overlooking the ocean. Lucille Seaton is a real estate agent. She is ambitious and the family have to keep moving to new and "better" houses. Stella's father Henry transforms backyards and he works on a television show.

"People would be sent away for the weekend while Henry and his team secretly got to work. The people would come back to find their boring backyard transformed with crazy paving, pebble paths, water features, decorative rocks, timber decks, tropical ferns, fountains, birdbaths, Mexican mosaics, Thai temples or Tuscan urns. Invariably, they screamed with joy, which Stella could never understand. The old backyards always looked so much more comfortable and homely."

Stella has her own hopes and dreams. She would like a proper house, down on the ground not high in the sky, she would like to open the fridge and find food inside, she would love love love a dog, and most of all she really wants her own space. She wants a place to call home.

Then Stella spies an advertisement in the newspaper:

For Sale: Cubbyhouse

16 Florence Street, Bayside. 

Solid timber with balcony and ladder. Run down, neglected; needs work and TLC. 

$150 neg.

Stella knows all the real estate jargon and she has lots of experience from years of observing her mother buying and selling houses so she sets off to talk to the owner of the cubbyhouse. She has saved almost $100 but the advert does say "neg".  She does not expect to find a new friend, a fabulous place to call her own, new friends, dogs to walk AND heaps of delicious cakes. 

I do wish this book was not out of print. Perhaps you will be lucky and find it in a school library. You can hear an audio sample here - this is the scene where Stella shares her dream with a girl who purports to be a dream expert (for 50 cents) at school. 

This story is smart and funny, just like its endearing main character, Stella. Magpies, Magpies, vol. 18 no. 4, September 2003

I talked about the late Australian author Ruth Starke recently and realised I had not talked about Stella by the Sea on this blog probably because I didn't own a copy and because it was published in 2003 which is five years before I started this blog. At a recent charity book sale I spied a copy of this Aussie Chomp book for just $1 in mint condition. I sat down today and revisited this delightful story. I think I smiled through the whole book.

Has this book stood the test of time?  Yes but there is one slightly dated reference to using street directory maps. We had a television documentary series here recently which featured teenagers and older people. The teenagers had to navigate Sydney suburbs using only a street directory and not their phones. I was utterly amazed that the had no idea about using an index to find the street name and also even more amazing they all had no idea how to use a map grid reference. Stella can use a street directory and in fact her parents own several of them. She even understands that maps can change and that the edition she was using is now out of date because a new set of town houses have been built around the house at 16 Florence Street. 

"If there was one thing the Seaton family had plenty of, it was street directories. Lucille had one in her car and Henry had one in his. There was another in Lucille's mezzanine office and other near the wall phone in the kitchen. Stella flipped it open and noted the map grids. She found the right page and yes, there was Florence Street, at the southern end of the Esplanade and not more than a thumb's width from Bayview Tower. She could go there tomorrow after school."

A few decades ago Penguin/Puffin produced three wonderful book series for young readers featuring our best Australian authors and illustrators. There were Aussie Nibbles for the youngest group, then Aussie Bites and finally Aussie Chomps. If your school library still has any of these please hold onto them, please promote them, please re-read them - they are such a perfect way to hook kids into reading. Here is one you could start with from the Bites series - Nathan and the Ice Rockets. I also love to read aloud The Bugalugs bum thief by Tim Winton (Aussie Bites series).

Captain Stella is the sequel to Stella by the sea:

Stella's parents are going overseas for a holiday and Stella is left behind with Granny Bee. Her holidays are looking bleak. But when the fusty old op shop that Granny Bee volunteers at is in danger of being closed down by the council, Stella seizes the chance to give it a makeover and save the day. And with help from a cast of zany community characters, she might just pull it off.

Here is a list of some of the Aussie Chomp titles (sorry they are all out of print) I think there were around 36 published in the series:

Anton rocks on by David Metzenthen

68 Teeth by James Moloney

Birdie in the sky by Prue Mason

Boots and All by Sheryl Clark

The boy who would live forever by Moya Simons

Catland by Ruth Starke

The dog stole my brain by Mary K Pershall

Famous by Julia Lawrinson

A horse called Darling by Delwyne Stephens (illustrated by Cheryl Orsini)

Just one Wish by Sally Rippin

Making Jamie Normal by Mary K Pershall

The Mal Rider by Pat Flynn

Nicholas and the Chronoporter by Rowley Monkfish

There's money in toilets by Robert Greenberg

Tree houses in Picture Books and easy chapter books for young readers

 

A House for Wombats is probably my favourite tree house picture book and I would guess nearly every child in Australia has heard of the Tree House series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton which begins with the 13-Storey Treehouse.

Do you have a memory of your very own tree house? Perhaps you have one in your back yard now? These cute structures have always held a fascination for me even though I didn't actually have a tree house myself probably because we didn't have a suitable tree in our garden. I did have a terrific cubby house (under our house) and a wonderful "Indian" tent which afforded the kids in my neighbourhood tons of fun. If you want to read a terrific Australian book about a cubby house try to find Junk Castle by Robin Klein. 

Here is a poem to get this topic off to a good start and then I have put a few covers of picture books and junior novels which feature tree houses recently collected by my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything.

A tree house, a tree house,

A secret you and me house,

A high up in the leafy branches

Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,

Be sure and wipe your feet house

Is not my kind of house at all—

Let’s go live in a tree house.

Tree House by Shel Silverstein from the poetry book Sing a Song of Popcorn.

Happy Mouse Day

These two are the same - one is the Australian edition and the other the US cover with the different title Audrey's Tree House.

Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House

Illustration from Andrew Henry's Meadow

Strictly no Elephants

Our tree named Steve

Toad and I by Lousie Yates

A library colleague and I were recently bemoaning the way young children seem to have less word knowledge "these days". This Teacher-Librarian is exploring older classic picture books with Grade two  as a way to show the children newest titles, while good, are not the only books in the library and then to show them books that have certainly stood the test of time.  This week she showed them the classic story Frog and Toad (I am thinking you may have guessed this) and nearly every child had no idea what a toad was. These children are seven or even eight years old. We both felt this was amazing and perhaps even sad.

By coincidence I picked up this book - Toad and I - from the same library.  To enjoy this book you perhaps need to know what a toad is or perhaps the pictures help you although I will say the green guy in this book does look more like a frog.  You could compare him with the frog illustration by Max Velthuijs.

Anyway putting aside the issue of toads or frogs for a moment when you read this book you need to know your fairy tales.  Look at these lines:

"One day, Kitty was playing with her new bouncy ball when she bounced it a bit too hard and it flew over the fence and disappeared."  I immediately thought of the Frog Princess and her ball which fell into a well.

"Hello,' said a voice
'Hello,' said Kitty.
'Who's there?'
It was a toad.
Kitty kissed him to see if he would turn into a prince. ...
But he didn't."

Toad lives in an amazing tree house. While he is showing Kitty around Squirrel rushes in. Owl has been hit by a meteorite. Toad puts on some medical clothes, a nurses' uniform, and Kitty puts on a white lab coat and stethoscope. They rush to the observatory to check out the meteorites when a Shrew rushes in with news of a monster. The mayhem continues with an injured hedgehog and the threat of snakes and cats. Have you guessed the culprit?

"It was the ball that had bounced over the fence ... "

When everything is set to rights Toad says goodbye to Kitty and "then he kissed her. I wasn't trying to turn you into a princess' he said. 'Just saying goodbye."

Now turn the page for another clever twist.

This book is funny and slightly crazy and would be a terrific read aloud book for a pre-school child. You could use it to talk about cause and effect.  Take a look here to see other books by Louise Yates.

Just so you don't confuse toads with frogs here are two photos:

Image source: Kids Growing Strong

Our tree named Steve by Alan Zweibel illustrated by David Catrow

You may have noticed the message on my sidebar where I say I want to share new discoveries.  Our tree named Steve is not a new book but it is a new discovery for me. This book was published in 2005 but I am happy to report it is still available.

Here is the blurb from the back cover:

"Two year old Sari couldn't pronounce the word 'tree' and called it 'Steve'. Dad and Mum thought Steve was the perfect place to hang Sari's swing. Adam thought Steve made a great third base. And Lindsay enjoyed her first crush under the shade of Steve's branches. In fact Steve was there for all the family's milestones - and he was strong and funny and generous. Now the years have passed. Dad is writing a letter to the kids with news about Steve, who is no longer the tree he once was."

There is a glorious marriage between the text and illustrations in this book. I laughed when I saw the page "... and whenever our dryer broke down, he held our underwear with pride."

On every page Steve is placed on the left side. He is so huge we can only see the lower trunk. The colours change on each page with the seasons and mood. Kirkus describes this "Steve’s almost-face shines in each illustration of this sentimental tribute."

We have recently had huge storms here in Sydney and it is a storm like this that finally topples Steve but turn the page for a surprise.  Steve can live on - but not in the way you might expect.  This is the perfect book to share with a young class. Then you could go for a tree walk and celebrate the beautiful trees in your own neighborhood.

Another book in our school library illustrated by David Catrow is I wanna Iguana. If you click his name you will see he has illustrated a very large number of picture books.

I would pair this book with The Crooked Apple Tree by Eric Houghton.

Cloud Boy by Marcia Williams

Harry Christmas (yes that is his name) and Angie Moon build a tree house in the backyard with the help of their fathers. These kids are great friends and almost share a birthday since they were born two days apart.  Angie calls them "almost twins." The new tree house is the perfect place to explore their passions. Harry loves clouds and Angie loves to draw. They name their tree house Artcloud. Angie is not keen on writing but she is given a diary and so much is happening in her life the diary becomes the perfect place to share her roller coaster of emotions.

Harry becomes ill. No one seems to want to tell Angie what is wrong. Harry is taken to hospital and it is clear this is very serious.

"Dear Diary,
I went to see Harry today! He was whiter than the bed sheets, his head was just one big bandage and there were drips and tubes everywhere - it freaked me out. He didn't talk but when I stroked his hand he grabbed by finger, like little Solo."

The relationship and difficult times experienced by Harry and Angie (as told by Angie through her diary) are only half the story, though. Grandma Gertie is staying with Angie and her family following the arrival of a new baby (Solo) and she has also come to see the exhibition of a special quilt. When she was a child Grandma Gertie was taken prisoner in Singapore and sent to Changi. The treatment of the prisoners, including very young children, was utterly terrible but Gertie survived and so did some of the letters she wrote to her cat, a quilt made in the camp by the children and the young boy who she later married when they were reunited as adults. Reading these letters allows Angie and Harry glimpse what Gertie went through during World War II and they are an interesting way to share this period in history with a mature primary school reader.

The making of a quilt is also used as a way to link the stories of past and present. Angie decides to make a quilt for Harry and to fill it with shared memories. The pace of her sewing and her decisions of the images to include match the details we read in the letters written by Gertie as she and the other prisoners work on their quilt. Make sure you watch this video about the making of the quilt.  You can hear Olga Henderson (nee Morris) who was the inspiration for Cloud Boy. Marcia Williams explains how she saw the Changi quilt in the V&A Museum in London.

"I saw the Changi Guide quilt in 2010 ... I was immediately struck by how, after so many years, this quilt is still a powerful symbol of young people's love and endurance."

If you share this book with a mature senior primary reader and they are curious to know more about the fall of Singapore I would recommend reading Lizard's Tale followed by The Happiness Box by Mark Greenwood.

When I read an emotional book I usually cry even when I anticipate the sad ending but in the case of Cloud Boy I didn't and this puzzles me. I did find Cloud Boy a compelling read and I did enjoy the voice of Angie along with the way she honestly expresses her emotions including her anger at Harry for being ill and her confusion about the way all the adults she trusts want to protect her from the truth.

Click on this link to read another review:

This is not an easy read in terms of subject matter, but it is worth acknowledging that not all children’s books can be filled with happy endings – not everything does end happily. However, there are glimpses of hope and optimism, and the possibility of how life continues despite the adversity faced. Minerva Reads

Andrew Henry's Meadow by Doris Burn

Just as relevant today as it was in 1965, this is a heart-warming story about children who want to feel special and appreciated for who they are.  Book Depository

This is a very old book but luckily it is a classic and so it is still in print.  Andrew Henry's Meadow was first published in 1965 and so it seems odd that I had not heard about this book nor had I encountered Doris Burn who is such a skilled illustrator.

Andrew Henry lives in the town of Stubbsville. Andrew Henry is an inventor. He makes the most wonderful devices - a helicopter in the kitchen, an eagle's cage in the living room, a merry-go-round for his sisters Marian and Martha and a "system of  pulleys" for his brothers Robert and Ronald. Sadly his family do not appreciate his creativity so he packs his tools and sets off to build a house for himself. Sam, his dog, is left at home. Andrew Henry finds the perfect location and he builds a splendid house using clay, rocks and poles. Andrew Henry enjoys his solitude but he is not alone for long. Alice Burdock arrives and she asks Andrew Henry build her a tree house. As the days go by George Turner wants a bridge house and Joe Polasky wants a dugout house. Jane O'Malley and Margot LePorte request a castle and a tee pee.  Meanwhile all the parents are frantically searching for their missing children. It's time for Sam to save the day!

When Andrew Henry comes home things change. He is given space for building and he makes something for every member of his family.

"He built a roller coaster for Robert and Ronald's toy cars. By using a bucket and parts of an electric fan, he made a hair dryer for Marian and Martha. The coffee mug he made for his father worked the same way as a bird feeder does. And he was especially proud of the automatic table setter he made for his mother."

You can see more of the illustrations here and here. You can see a video reading of the whole book.

I would pair Andrew Henry's House with Building our House, The Junkyard Wonders, Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty and Whatcha building by Andrew Daddo.  If you have a child who loves to draw grab this book because the pencil sketches are sure to inspire them. Also why not take this book outside to read and then make a construction, invention or house yourself. The fun you and your children will have might amaze you.

Strictly no elephants by Lisa Mantchev illustrated by Taeeun Yoo

I remember years ago we had a little book in our library called But No Elephants.   Reading Strictly no Elephants tonight I thought about this older book.  I also remembered a little junior chapter book called The pocket Elephant by Catherine Sefton.

All three books deal with the unlikely, but somehow delightful idea, of having an elephant as a pet and even better having an elephant as a friend.

A young boy has a pet elephant.  It is the day for a meeting of the Pet Club at Number 17. Sadly when the boy and his elephant arrive there is a sign on the door "Strictly No Elephants."  As they travel home they meet a girl with a pet skunk.  The pet club members also don't want to play with skunks even though this little skunk does not stink.

The solution - start your own pet club with a sign that says All Are Welcome.  And yes they all come. Such a variety of animals and their friends meeting in a wonderful tree house.

I love this line from the book which comes as the boy and elephant make their journey to the club meeting :

"He doesn't like the cracks in the sidewalk much.  I always go back and help him over. That's what friends do : lift each other over the cracks."

That's what friends do is a repeated refrain in this story which is about so much more than having an elephant as a pet.

There is even a song to go with this joyous book.  Here is a reading of the whole book.

Sweet and affirming. Kirkus

In “Strictly No Elephants,” a sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale written by Lisa Mantchev, friendships are born out of mutual respect for the idiosyncratic choices of others.  New York Times

I absolutely adored seeing all the non-traditional pets. But my favorite part is the HEART of this book about fitting in. It’s a theme that any aged reader can relate too.   Nerdy Book Club

A House for Wombats by Jane Burrell illustrated by Michael Dugan

Earlier this week I talked about Sebastian lives in a Hat.  I saw new copies of this book today in a shop with a big sticker on the front to celebrate its 30th birthday.

One of my other most favourite wombat picture books is A House for Wombats.  I thought I must have talked about this book previously. Luckily I have a copy of my own. This is a book to treasure and read over and over again to your young reading companion. 

Sadly, thought, this book is now out of print but I want you to go into a library and search for A House for Wombats. I am fairly sure this book will still be found in many school libraries. 

Kate is sorry the wombats have to live in holes in the ground.  She decides to build them a tree house. Her father has a shed full of wonderful materials.  

"It's full of things for building tree houses.  If you use some of them, I might be able to fit something else in."

Kate sets to work.  She builds a floor between the branches, a roof so the wombats stay dry, walls and a window with curtains, a chimney and finally a spiral staircase.  She asks her dad to come and take a look when she is finished.  This next page is the surprise.  Young children will gasp out loud and so will you!

Here is one page from the book showing the wombats all settled into their new and splendid home.  On the table is a book - Australian audiences will see the joke here.  The book you can see if you look carefully is The Muddle-headed wombat which is an Australian classic.  Below you can see another page featuring beautiful Australian gum blossoms.